Name lists

Literary names for boys

Names with a life in books, poems and plays.

  1. OliverFrom Old French Olivier, of disputed origin: either Latin oliva (olive tree) or a Germanic name like Alfihar (elf-army) reshaped by association with olive#3 · steady
  2. DylanSon of the sea#41 · slipping
  3. CharlesFrom Old High German 'Karl', meaning 'free man'#58 · slipping
  4. ChristopherBearer of Christ #71 · slipping
  5. SilasFrom Latin 'Silvanus' meaning 'wood, forest'#68 · rising
  6. CharlieDiminutive of Charles, from Germanic Karl meaning 'free man' or 'strong man'#155 · rising
  7. ArthurPossibly from Celtic 'artos' (bear) + 'viros' (man), or from Latin 'Artorius'#101 · rising
  8. EmersonEnglish surname meaning 'son of Emery'#262 · rising
  9. NathanielGift of God#125 · slipping
  10. BeckettEnglish surname of uncertain origin, possibly from Middle English 'bec' meaning 'beak' or 'bekke' meaning 'stream, brook'#156 · rising
  11. JudeFrom Hebrew 'Yehudah' (Judah) meaning praised or he will be praised#170 · slipping
  12. PeterRock or stone#201 · rising
  13. RhettAn Anglicized form of the Dutch surname de Raedt, meaning 'advice, counsel'#202 · slipping
  14. FinnFrom Irish Fionn meaning 'fair' or 'white'#222 · slipping
  15. OscarFrom Old Irish 'os' (deer) + 'cara' (friend), or from Old English meaning 'god's spear'#231 · slipping
  16. ArielHebrew name meaning 'lion of God'#538 · rising
  17. AtticusFrom Greek 'Attikos' meaning 'of Attica' (Athens region)#294 · rising
  18. HoldenFrom an Old English place name meaning 'deep valley'#308 · slipping
  19. RomeoItalian name from Latin Romaeus, 'pilgrim to Rome'#311 · rising
  20. DanteItalian short form of Durante#298 · slipping
  21. TristanFrom the Celtic name Drust/Drustan, meaning 'noise' or 'tumult'#258 · slipping
  22. WinstonFrom an Old English place name meaning 'Wine's settlement' or 'joyful stone'#391 · rising
  23. HectorFrom Greek 'Hektor', meaning 'to hold' or 'restrain'#415 · slipping
  24. EdgarFrom Old English 'Eadgar', composed of 'ead' (wealth) and 'gar' (spear), meaning 'wealthy spearman'#482 · slipping
  25. CaspianFrom the Caspian Sea, whose Latin name 'Caspius' may derive from the ancient Caspi people of the region#487 · rising
  26. DorianFrom Greek 'Dorios', relating to the ancient Greek Dorians#526 · slipping
  27. CassiusAncient Roman family name (gens Cassia)#519 · slipping
  28. RolandFrom Old High German Hrodland, meaning 'famous land' (hrod = fame, land = territory)#581 · slipping
  29. CharleyVariant of Charlie#155 · rising
  30. ScoutEnglish word meaning one who scouts or explores#1,214 · rising
  31. MarcelFrom Latin Marcellus, diminutive of Marcus, likely derived from Mars, the Roman god of war#612 · rising
  32. HuxleyOld English surname from place name meaning 'Hucc's woodland clearing'#680 · slipping
  33. HarryMedieval English form of Henry#722 · slipping
  34. DilanVariant of Dylan (Welsh 'son of the sea') or from Turkish 'dilan' meaning 'loving, filled with desire'#41 · slipping
  35. AslanTurkish word meaning lion - immortalized as the great lion in C#795 · rising
  36. OrlandoItalian form of Roland#806 · slipping
  37. RumiJapanese name with varied kanji meanings#1,562 · rising
  38. DillonFrom the Irish surname Dillon, meaning 'like a lion' or from Welsh 'dillyn' meaning 'faithful'#41 · slipping
  39. ByronFrom Old English 'byre', meaning 'at the byres/cattle sheds'#886 · slipping
  40. LangstonEnglish surname from Old English 'lang' (long) + 'tun' (settlement)#906 · slipping
  41. WatsonEnglish surname meaning 'son of Walter'#916 · slipping
  42. JulesFrench form of Julius, from Latin 'Iulius,' possibly meaning 'downy-bearded' or related to the gens Julia of ancient Rome#1,210 · rising
  43. UlisesSpanish form of Ulysses, Latin rendering of Greek Odysseus#614 · slipping
  44. CedricCoined by Sir Walter Scott in Ivanhoe (1819), possibly derived from the Celtic name Cerdic meaning 'amiable'#949 · rising
  45. DuncanFrom Scottish Gaelic 'Donnchadh': 'donn' (brown/dark) + 'cath' (battle)#1,003 · slipping
  46. ViktorSlavic/Germanic variant of Victor, from Latin 'victor' meaning 'conqueror, winner'#220 · slipping
  47. AudenEnglish surname from Old English 'Aldwine' (old friend)#1,480 · slipping
  48. PercyFrom Norman place-name Perci#1,119 · rising
  49. SeamusIrish form of James, from Late Latin Jacomus, derived from Hebrew Ya'akov meaning 'supplanter'#1,121 · slipping
  50. ThorinLiterary invention by Tolkien from Old Norse Thorinn 'bold' - known via Thorin Oakenshield#1,162 · rising
  51. AntonShort form of Antonius (Anthony)#1,204 · slipping
  52. EliotEnglish surname-turned-given name, a variant of Elliott, ultimately from Hebrew Elijah meaning 'my God is Yahweh#73 · slipping
  53. VirgilFrom Roman family name Vergilius#1,224 · rising
  54. XadenModern invented name with no traditional meaning - popularized by Xaden Riorson in Rebecca Yarros' Fourth Wing#755 · rising
  55. FinnickLiterary invention from Hunger Games - based on Finn (fair) with -ick ending, now used as real name#1,235 · rising
  56. MiltonFrom an Old English place name meaning 'mill town'#1,238 · slipping
  57. TristenVariant of Tristan, from the Celtic legend of Tristan and Isolde#258 · slipping
  58. TristianVariant spelling of Tristan#258 · slipping
  59. PercivalFrom Old French Perceval, possibly Welsh 'pierce the valley' - Arthurian knight of the Holy Grail quest#1,301 · rising
  60. TrumanEnglish surname from Old English meaning 'faithful man, loyal man'#1,316 · slipping
  61. AntonyRoman family name Antonius#55 · slipping
  62. TheodenFrom Old English 'theoden' meaning 'king, prince, lord' - known as King of Rohan in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings#1,367 · rising
  63. HanselLittle Hans, 'God is gracious' - German diminutive made famous by Hansel and Gretel tale#1,372 · rising
  64. BennetEnglish surname form of Latin Benedictus meaning 'blessed'#48 · rising
  65. ConanIrish 'conan' meaning 'little wolf' - ancient name known through Arthur Conan Doyle#1,401 · rising
  66. AustenVariant of Austin/Augustine#123 · slipping
  67. ReganAnglicized form of Irish 'Ó Riagáin' meaning 'descendant of Riagán', possibly meaning 'little king'#1,263 · slipping
  68. AntoineFrench form of Antonius (Latin)#1,422 · slipping
  69. LysanderFrom Greek lysis + aner meaning 'liberator' - Spartan general and Shakespeare character#1,428 · rising
  70. DracoFrom Greek 'drakon' meaning 'dragon' via Latin - constellation name, known from Harry Potter#1,441 · rising
  71. EnderTurkish name meaning very rare or precious - widely recognized from Orson Scott Card's novel Ender's Game#1,449 · slipping
  72. OskarGerman/Scandinavian form of Oscar - Irish 'deer lover', a royal and artistic classic#231 · slipping
  73. EmmersonVariant of Emerson, English surname meaning 'son of Emery' (Germanic 'brave power') - now unisex first name#262 · rising
  74. RadleyFrom Old English 'read-leah' meaning 'red meadow' - originally an English surname, now used as first name#1,508 · rising
  75. AtreyuInvented by Michael Ende for 'The NeverEnding Story' hero - modern literary coinage with no old meaning#1,513 · slipping
  76. HuckShort form of Huckleberry, diminutive of Hugh#1,548 · slipping
  77. DontePhonetic spelling of Dante, short form of Italian Durante, from Latin 'durans' meaning 'enduring, steadfast'#298 · slipping
  78. TheodorGerman and Scandinavian form of Greek Theodoros 'gift of God' - classic royal name#6 · rising
  79. EdmondOld English 'wealthy protector' - French form of Edmund, borne by explorer Edmond Halley#810 · rising
  80. MerlinFrom Welsh Myrddin, legendary wizard name - associated with Arthurian legend and the merlin falcon#1,845 · rising

Not sure which style is yours?

The one-minute style quiz: tell us the names you love and we find your style.

Take the quiz

Browse all names →